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Las Vegas Gunman Stephen Paddock was an Accountant who played $100-a-hand Poker

The police have named Stephen Paddock as the gunman who, from a hotel room in Las Vegas, mercilessly opened fire on people who attended a music festival outside a casino, killing at least 59 people and leaving over 500 more wounded in what is now considered as the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.

Stephen Paddock, age 64, started his shooting spree from two windows of the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino right after 10pm local time last Sunday night, according to police. A SWAT team discovered Stephen already dead inside his hotel suite and believe that he took his own life.

Police said Stephen had at least 23 firearms with him in his hotel room. He had been occupying the room since September 28. Police also said that another 19 firearms, explosives, electronics and thousands of rounds of ammunition were discovered at his home at a retirement community in Mesquite, Nevada, just 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

In a press conference (October 2) Monday morning, FBI Special Agent in Charge Aaron Rouse said that the bureau found "no connection with an international terrorist group." The motive is still undetermined.

Police have identified a female companion of Stephen named Marilou Danley, who was abroad at the time of the shooting. Police spoke to her Monday, and she is now believed not having to do anything with the incident.

Stephen Paddock apparently had no criminal record whatsoever, aside from a routine citation many years ago that was handled in court.

The gunman's brother Eric Paddock (picture right) spoke to reporters when they visited him outside his home Monday morning, saying he is "dumbfounded" and "horrified" by his brother's actions. He said, "No religious affiliation. No political affiliation. He just hung out. He had a couple of guns but they were all handguns, legal. He might have had one long gun, but he had them in a safe."

According to Eric, his brother Stephen was a multi-millionaire who accumulated his wealth via investing in real estate. He said Stephen was an accountant for several years, and Eric wasn't aware of his brother having any financial problems at all.

Eric Paddock said during an interview with the Associated Press that his brother was "not a normal guy" and his last communication with him was in September via text messages. He said Stephen played ‘high-stakes video poker' and once he texted him a picture of himself winning $40,000 on a slot machine.

Eric Paddock confirmed that their father was Benjamin Hoskins Paddock, a notorious bank robber who for eight years was on the FBI's most wanted list after he escaped from jail in 1969. He was serving a 20-year sentence for a series of robberies in Phoenix when he escaped, and he once tried to run down a federal agent with his car. Benjamin Paddock died in 1998.

On his remarks Monday morning, U.S. President Donald Trump called the shooting "an act of pure evil." He did not refer to the shooting attack as an act of terrorism.

As of now, investigators are still trying to find out what was Paddock's motive. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) said they were responsible for it, but showed no proof. U.S. officials say there are no signs that Stephen Paddock is linked to the radical Islamic groups.

Police acquired a search warrant for his Mesquite home and are investigating the area. Records reveal that in June 2016, Stephen Paddock moved in to Mesquite, Nevada. He previously lived in Reno, Nevada from 2012 to December 2016. He was listed at an address in Melbourne, Florida from 2013 to 2015. He moved between California and Texas from the late 1990s to the early 2000s.

From 1985 to 1988, Stephen Paddock worked for a ‘predecessor company' of defense contractor Lockheed Martin. Lockheed said they are cooperating with police to provide information of his employment. The company refused to reveal what position Stephen held.

Court records show that in 2012, Stephen sued the Cosmopolitan Hotel and Resorts in Las Vegas, saying that when he slipped and fell in the hotel, he suffered substantial injuries. The case was eventually dismissed by both parties, since they had agreed on a settlement.

Records also show that Stephen Paddock was a licensed hunter and he also had a license to fly a small plane.

13 comments for "Las Vegas Gunman Stephen Paddock was an Accountant who played $100-a-hand Poker"

Stephen Paddock, age 64, started his shooting spree from two windows of the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino right after 10pm local time last Sunday night, according to police. A SWAT team discovered Stephen already dead inside his hotel suite and believe that he took his own life.

Soooooo sick we will never know what did make him do this.....He was a multimilionaire his brother said....Crazy to shoot at people and crazy to shoot at innocent people that didnt deserve to die,..on a day out.....very sad Rip

Unimaginable cruelty. 59+ innocent people have been killed and 527+ injured in Las Vegas rampage. It was definitely one of the most despicable and heinous crimes in recent American history. The question remains whether Stephen Paddock converted semi-automatic weapons into fully automatic weapons himself. And the motive for the attack is still unknown. My condolences and sympathies to the families and friends of the victims of this horrific incident.

Let me think. Who was it, not too long ago, that in another attack said...if the citizens had more guns this wouldnt had happened...I think he is president now.That guy had guns for a small army, i guess their law works well.

Desperate people do desperate things for various reasons. I am not sure his gambling habit could be blamed for this mass shooting or he was just on some drugs/pills etc. or simply he had a bad day and decided to take it out on others.

This is not a problem but it is inadmissible what did he do. If he was a terrorist, i understood one thing but he was a normal man who worked and made money. Killed and hurt a lot of people. These weapons are much easier to enter the hotel because the bellboy help with baggages. It's not like at the airport.

It's rare for a mass shooting to be from a distance. Most mass shooters, for whatever reason, want to be closer to their victims, perhaps to feel like they will better experience the perceived vengeance that they crave. If you want to kill from a distance, a bomb is of course easier, more effective, and you're more likely to make your escape. Maybe this guy had a brain tumor like Whitman in the Texas bell tower shooting, another long distance mass killing.

kinda strange situation really, dude with what it seems no financial problems, no religious affiliations, not a member of any terrorists organization, just an ordinary dude has decided to go banana's and written his name into American history with bloody letters.

Yes very sad situation this is, i see the news in the television and president dinald trump talking about this situation and videos from this guy shhoting from hotel, and then I hear sp many people are dead this is really very sad news, i don't k ow why people do this, crazy.

Autopsy and toxicological investigations might provide clues why Stephen Paddock became a mass murderer. Did he have any brain abnormalities or serious illness? Were there any illegal drugs in his blood when he died?

The authorities discovered a new fact.Stephen Paddock, a high-stakes gambler (who wagered up to $1 million each night while gambling at Las Vegas casinos), had been depressed after losing a significant amount of money in the past two years. I guess he had sunk deep into the financial mire, where no hope could be found.

Stephen Paddock, a player with high stakes (who every day played casino in a casino in Las Vegas), was depressed after losing significant money in the last two years ............. .. it certainly can explain a little bit of his act but innocent people were killed .... a terrible event ..... a person just went crazy